UTokyo President’s Log

We held the award ceremony of the University of Tokyo President’s Award for Students. The award is given by me to individuals or groups who demonstrated remarkable excellence in academics, extracurricular activities and social activities, served as role models for other students and contributed to enhancing UTokyo’s reputation. Ever since it was inaugurated in the 2002-03 academic year, UTokyo presidents have continued to award students for their outstanding activities for more than 20 years.

Among a wide range of activities recommended, nine of them were selected for the President’s Award this year. I wish all of the winners further success in their future endeavors.

The University of Tokyo and NEC Corporation concluded a strategic collaboration agreement to implement a trustworthy society where people and AI can live together in harmony.

NEC has technical expertise in developing generative AI in-house as well as extensive experience in AI implementation in various fields. Through future collaboration and cooperation with NEC, we aim to build an AI-native society based on safety and security under the vision of “Future Synergy with AI: Toward Trustworthy Social Implementation.”

I attended the graduation ceremony of the most recent class (Round 33) of the University of Tokyo Executive Management Program (UTokyo EMP).

In the latest round, 23 people successfully completed the program which was launched in October 2008, with the cumulative number of UTokyo EMP graduates surpassing 750.I sincerely hope that all the graduates will make good use of what they have acquired through the program and make great achievements in their respective fields.

I participated in an open critique event for an art project to dig a beautiful hole on UTokyo’s Asano Campus.In May 2025, UTokyo and Tokyo University of the Arts signed a comprehensive partnership agreement, aiming to foster human resources and contribute to regional society together, while making good use of characteristics of each university and educational research resources. The art project was jointly carried out by the two universities as the first step to launch specific initiatives under the agreement.

A total of 27 students from both universities dug a hole together which is called “Everyone’s hole.” The students were divided into teams and collaborated in creating seven works in total under the common concept of “beautiful holes.” At the critique session, I appreciated all of them, gaining insight into the creative process and the thoughts behind the works. I was delighted to see that the project turned into such an interesting and inspiring initiative.

I held a press conference to announce the establishment of the Machining Transformation Research Center (MX Center). Supported by a generous endowment from DMG MORI Co., Ltd., the MX Center will be launched within the Graduate School of Engineering on April 1, 2026 as a new endowment-funded research organization.

Japan’s manufacturing sector faces a range of challenges that must be addressed over the coming generations, including declining global competitiveness, a shortage of skilled human resources, energy constraints, and increasing environmental burdens. I hope that the research conducted at the MX Center will contribute globally to addressing challenges on the manufacturing floor and, ultimately, to the realization of a better future society.